Bluefin Escabeche with a Pickled Garden
With a summer garden of pickled vegetables backing a flash-fried fillet of Bluefin tuna that's been marinated in the pickling brine, this dish is a carnival of textures and tastes that's as fun to look at as it is to eat. While it does take a few days for the vegetables to pickle the rest of the preparation is relatively quick and all the components can be prepared in advance. If you have trouble finding the baby vegetables, you can use regular sized ones that have been cut down in size.
Makes 4 servings
prep time: 15 minutes
cook time: 15 minutes
passive time: 3 days
Ingredients:
4 baby carrots, tops trimmed
4 baby cucumbers
4 baby onions, peeled and cut in half
4 baby peppers, cut in half
4 ears fresh baby corn, peeled and blanched
1 cup rice vinegar
1 cup water
1/3 cup sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons salt
1 tablespoon juniper berries
5 sprigs thyme
vegetable oil for frying
260 grams bluefin tuna
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground white pepper
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
flat-leaf parsley for garnish
Instructions:
1. To make the pickles, prepare the vegetables and put them in a sealable heat-safe plastic bag. Prepare a large bowl of ice water.
2. Put the rice vinegar, water, sugar, salt, juniper berries and thyme in a non-reactive pot and bring to a boil, stir until the salt and sugar are dissolved and then turn off the heat. Pour the vinegar into the bag with the vegetables and then immediately place the bag in the ice water bath to rapidly cool the vinegar being careful not to get water in the bag. Seal the bag. If you have a chamber vacuum, you can vacuum seal the bag to speed up the pickling process, otherwise let the pickles soak for at least 3 days in the refrigerator.
3. To make the escabeche, add 2-inches of oil to a heavy bottomed pot and then preheat to 360 degrees F (180 C).
4. Drain the pickling liquid from the pickles into a container that's just large enough to hold the tuna and set the pickles aside.
5. Use paper towels to thoroughly dry the surface of the tuna.
6. Mix the paprika, 1/4 teaspoon of salt and white pepper and then sprinkle the mixture on all sides of the tuna. Dust the tuna with the flour on all sides.
7. When the oil has reached the proper temperature, gently place the tuna in the oil and fry until light brown (about 30 seconds), flipping once part of the way through.
8. Transfer the fried tuna directly into the container with the pickling liquid, making sure it's submerged in the brine. Let this marinate in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour or up to 6 hours.
9. When you're ready to serve the escabeche, slice the tuna and plate with the garden of pickled vegetables. Garnish with sprigs of flat-leaf parsley.
